Aleșd (; , ) is a town in

Bihor County Bihor County (, ) is a county (județ) in western Romania. With a total area of , Bihor is Romania's 6th largest county geographically and the main county in the historical region of Crișana. Its capital city is Oradea (Nagyvárad). Toponymy ...

, western

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It administers three villages: Pădurea Neagră (''Feketeerdő''), Peștiș (''Sólyomkőpestes''), and Tinăud (''Tinód'').

Geography

The town is located in the east of the county, near the border with

Cluj County Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...

, at the foot of the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

. It lies on the banks of the river

Crișul Repede The Crișul Repede (Romanian language, Romanian Crișul Repede ("the rapid Criș"); Hungarian language, Hungarian Sebes-Körös) is a river in Bihor County, Crișana, Romania and in southeastern Hungary (Körösvidek). Together with the rivers Cri ...

, where the

Vadu Crișului – Aștileu Canal The Vadu Crișului – Aștileu Canal (called colloquially ''Canalu de Apă'') is a canal in Bihor County, Romania. It diverts part of the discharge of the river Crișul Repede for the supply of the Aștileu hydroelectric plant with an installed ...

connects with the river. The river Izvor flows into the Crișul Repede near Aleșd; the river Secătura flows into the Izvor in Peștiș village. Aleșd is located on the CFR main railway line between

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

and

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. Consequently, it is served by frequent rapid and intercity (IC) trains from

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, Arad, and

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. Aleșd is located in the eastern part of Bihor County, on

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

DN1 (

European route E60 European route E 60 is the second-longest road in the International E-road network and runs , from Brest, France (on the Atlantic coast), to Irkeshtam, Kyrgyzstan (on the border with China). Route * **: Brest () **: Brest - Quimper ...

), at a distance of from Oradea and from Cluj-Napoca.

History

At first Aleșd was on the shores of the Crișul Repede River (meaning ”The fast river”), in its floodplain. In the first half of the 18th century, the population moved to the terrace on the right bank of the Crișul Repede, in the place that it occupies today. The move was made to escape the frequent floods. After the break-up of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Hungarian town passed under Romanian administration during the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

of 1919, and became part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

in April 1920. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the town became the headquarters of plasa Aleșd of Bihor County. As a result of the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

, it was returned to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in August 1940, staying under Hungarian administration until October 1944, towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Following the administrative reform of 1950, it became the seat of Aleșd

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

within Bihor Region (renamed Oradea Region in 1952 and Crișana Region in 1960). In 1968, the old territorial division into ''

județ A (, plural ) is an administrative division in Romania, and was also used from 1940 to 1947 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1998 to 2003 in Moldova. There are 41 in Romania, divided into municipii (municipalities), ''ora ...

e'' was reinstituted, and the Aleșd reverted to being part of Bihor County, and was declared a town that year.

Population

At the census from 2011, the town had a population of 9,619, made up of

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

(63.9%),

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

(16.04%),

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

(12.73%),

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

(6.59%), and others (0.42%).Romanian 2002 Census
/ref> According to the 2021 census, Aleșd has a population of 9,662; of those, 58.86% were Romanians, 15,63% Roma, 11.44% Hungarians, 6.06% Slovaks, and 7.8% of unknown ethnicity.

Administration

The town of Aleșd is run by a mayor and a local council composed of 17 councilors. The mayor, Ioan Coloman Todoca, from the National Liberal Party, was elected in 2016.

Notable residents

* Zsolt Bodoni, painter who lives in Oradea and was born in 1975 in Aleșd. *

Miklós Radnóti Miklós Radnóti (born ''Miklós Glatter'', surname variants: ''Radnói'', ''Radnóczi''; 5 May 1909 – 4 or 9 November 1944) was a Hungarian poet, an outstanding representative of modern Hungarian lyric poetry as well as a certified secondary ...

(1909–1944), poet and teacher who served his labor draft during

in Aleșd. *

Ilie Bolojan Ilie-Gavril Bolojan (; born 17 March 1969) is a Romanian politician serving as the president of the senate of Romania. He previously served as the acting president of Romania from February 2025, following the resignation of Klaus Iohannis, unti ...

, liberal politician, the current

Prime Minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania (), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (), is the head of the Government of Romania, Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled ''President of the Council of Ministers'' (), when ...

Gallery

File:Alesd - reformed church.jpg, Reformed church File:Élesd - Ortodox templom.JPG, Orthodox church File:Alesd - Roman-Catholic Church.jpg, Roman Catholic church File:Élesd - Görög katolikus templom.JPG, Greek-Catholic church File:Alesd - Baptist prayer hall.JPG, Baptist prayer hall File:Alesd - The old Erzsebet Hotel.jpg, The old Erzsébet Hotel File:Alesd - Létai-house.jpg, Létai House File:Élesd - Vasútállomás.jpg, Train station

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alesd Populated places in Bihor County Localities in Crișana Towns in Romania